1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telephonic communications systems, and more particularly to an integrated device for receiving and recording incoming calls and also serving as a caller ID (caller identification) device. The present invention records the phone numbers of the recorded incoming calls, and also prints a list of the incoming call phone numbers and other caller information on demand by the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern technology has led to the development of a number of enhancements to the basic telephone system. The invention and development of relatively simple recording systems (audio tape, etc.) resulted in the development of the answering machine, with its capability for recording unanswered calls when the receiving person was unavailable to take the call. More recently, certain developments have provided greater defenses for the call recipient, in the form of caller identification (caller ID) systems, in which at least the telephone number of the caller is provided in a display at the receiving phone, so the recipient of the call can determine whether he or she should answer the call.
The caller ID system has proven to be of great value in assisting people to sort out so-called xe2x80x9cjunkxe2x80x9d calls, i. e., telemarketing calls and the like, from calls which are important to them. The answering machine also provides similar benefits, in that a person may skip through recorded audio messages which are not of interest to them. However, the problem with the answering machine system is that it requires the call recipient to scan through the recorded audio messages, with the recipient being required to note the phone numbers of any calls he or she wishes to return. If there has been a period of some few days, and/or the recipient tends to receive many calls, this process can require an inordinate amount of time. Another problem with such systems, is that oftentimes the answering machine reaches its full recording capacity, with the result that subsequent calls, and their phone numbers, are not recorded.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a printing caller ID system which is capable of providing a printed list of at least the telephone numbers of calls received by the associated answering machine. Sufficient independence is provided between the audio answering machine and the caller ID printout, to provide a printout copy of all incoming telephone numbers, even though the audio recording capacity of the answering machine may be exceeded. The present invention may also be programmed to receive and print out such caller ID numbers only over a specific time period, if desired, and provides the above features and others in a single, compact unit for household and/or office use.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventors are aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,490 issued on Sep. 8, 1992 to Alfred J. Beckman, titled xe2x80x9cPassive Telephone Line Monitoring System,xe2x80x9d describes a system requiring a personal computer and computer printer for its operation. The computer and printer are separate units from the actual monitoring system, rather than having the recording and printout means combined within a single, unitary device, as in the present invention. Moreover, the Beckman system does not provide for the recording of the actual telephone conversation, as does the answering machine portion of the present invention. The Beckman device records only the time, date, and number of the call, and its duration, with none of the call content being recorded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,676 issued on Apr. 29, 1997 to Robert C. Greco et al., titled xe2x80x9cMethod And Apparatus For Monitoring A Caller""s Name While Using A Telephone,xe2x80x9d describes a complex system requiring at least two incoming telephone lines. the Greco et al. system includes a video display for displaying the name, phone number, brief status message, and duration of an incoming call to the call recipient while the recipient is on another phone line to another caller. The Greco et al. system does not provide any means of printing out the information, as it is intended for use as a real time system for displaying telephone call status as it occurs, rather than recording information for later use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,769 issued on Oct. 20, 1998 to Dan O""Reilly et al., titled xe2x80x9cSystem And Method Therefor Of Viewing In Real Time Call Traffic Of A Telecommunications Network,xe2x80x9d describes a very complex system intended for use in a large business which has a large telephone system or network for receiving incoming calls from customers. The O""Reilly et al. system utilizes a number of personal computers for displaying the date, time, phone number of the caller, call duration, and perhaps other information. This information may also be printed out in hard copy form. However, the O""Reilly et al. system does not provide any means of recording the actual conversation in an audio format nor of selecting a specific time period for review, as provided by the present invention. Moreover, the present system is a compact, integrated system incorporating both answering machine and printer for the caller ID information, in a single unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,009 issued on Nov. 10, 1998 to Robert Diamond et al., titled xe2x80x9cCaller ID Telephone With Signal Attenuation,xe2x80x9d describes a system essentially combining elements of caller ID and call waiting services. The Diamond et al. system requires at least two incoming lines, and alerts a call recipient to a second call by attenuating the audio of the first call and audibly presenting the second caller""s name and number over the first caller""s call. The Diamond et al. system is more closely related to the system of the Greco et al. ""676 U.S. Patent discussed further above, with its video display of the same information, than to the present printing caller ID system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,239 issued on Feb. 23, 1999 to Karen Koralewski et al., titled xe2x80x9cTelephone Call Screening System,xe2x80x9d describes a caller ID system interconnected with computer display of information about callers associated with a predetermined series of phone numbers. The Koralewski et al. system receives a phone number from the caller ID system and attempts to match that number with stored information. If a match is found, the stored information (picture of the caller, etc.) is displayed on a monitor screen. However, the Koralewski et al. system does not record calls for later screening and/or response, nor does it provide a hard copy printout of telephone numbers from a caller ID system, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,000 issued on Jun. 22, 1999 to Vinh H. Nguyen et al., titled xe2x80x9cText Teletype Writer With Caller Identification Function,xe2x80x9d describes a system directed primarily to the hearing impaired. No audio operation is disclosed. Rather, a TTY (text teletype) machine is provided, with a video display of the caller ID number and caller""s name, where applicable. The Nguyen et al. system provides for the user to review previous incoming caller IDs, but does not actually record the content of the call, either for audio playback or visual display, in any way. In contrast, the present printing caller ID system provides an audio playback of all incoming calls in a given period (to the limit of recording capability), and also provides a printed hard copy of all caller ID information over a given prior period, as selected by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,859 issued on Sep. 12, 2000 to Harmen Giethoorn, titled xe2x80x9cTelecommunications System And A Subscriber Device,xe2x80x9d describes a telephone call recording system which prioritizes incoming calls according to the frequency of calls from a given caller ID number. The phone number of a caller who calls several times would be retained by the system, and advanced in the recording system, over a single caller. This provides some sorting of more urgent calls from those having less urgency, and assures that messages from more urgent callers will not be lost if the device runs out of recording time. While the Giethoorn system is advantageous for conventional answering machines, the present system does not require such call prioritizing, as caller IDs from all incoming calls may be printed out in a hard copy format.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,170 issued on Sep. 26, 2000 to Frederick J. Sawaya, titled xe2x80x9cTelephone Message Printing Method And Apparatus,xe2x80x9d describes a system using a personal computer (laptop, etc.) and specially configured printer to print the date, time, and phone number of incoming calls on a specially configured memo sheet. The Sawaya system differs from the present invention in at least two major respects. First, Sawaya does not provide any means for making an audio recording of the call, i. e., serving as an answering machine. Secondly, Sawaya does not provide any means for the user of the system to select a specific time period for the printing of his phone message memos. The present invention provides both audio recording and user selectable time periods.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,531 issued on Nov. 28, 2000 to Edward O. Clapper, titled xe2x80x9cTelephone Caller Identification System,xe2x80x9d describes a system which interfaces with a television receiver or computer to display the phone number of an incoming telephone call by means of the caller ID signal. The person watching TV or using the computer is thus provided with the phone number of the incoming call, and can decide whether to answer the call or not without leaving the TV or computer to view a display at the phone. The Clapper system also provides an optional audio output of the phone number information, if desired. However, the Clapper system does not include a recording device to record a phone message from the caller, nor does it provide for other than real time display or printing out the caller ID information for later retrieval, as provided by the present system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,367 issued on May 1, 2001 to Colin D. Smith et al., titled xe2x80x9cCalling Line Identification With Location Icon,xe2x80x9d describes a system wherein the user may set up certain graphical displays and/or icons associated with a person having a given telephone number. When that person calls and the receiver identifies him/her by means of the caller ID system, the Smith et al. device associates the display and/or icon with the caller ID number, for the call recipient. The Smith et al. system is strictly a video display, and does not provide any audio recording of any messages from the caller, as does the answering machine portion of the present invention. Moreover, Smith et al. do not provide any form of hard copy printout of caller ID numbers.
Finally, British Patent Publication No. 2,329,092 published on Mar. 10, 1999 to Ericcson OMC Limited, titled xe2x80x9cCalling Line Identifier Providing Distinctive Alert Modes For Caller Identification,xe2x80x9d describes a system which can discriminate between different incoming caller IDs and announce such different incoming calls in different ways, i. e., audible tone, vibrator, etc. However, the Ericcson OMC system does not provide any form of hard copy printout or listing of calls and caller IDs received, as does the present invention. Moreover, the Ericcson OMC system only operates in real time, and cannot record previous calls received for retrieval at a later time, as can the present system.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a printing caller ID solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention comprises a printing caller ID system, combining an answering machine with its system for recording audio telephone messages and a small printer interface for producing printed hard copies of caller ID numbers received by the system. The present invention utilizes current technology to result in a relatively small, compact device including both of the above features. A touch screen system is used to control the printer system, with other controls provided for the audio recording system.
The present printing caller ID system provides numerous benefits over conventional audio answering machines which can record voice and telephone numbers, and visual displays which display the caller""s telephone number when the call is received. The present system not only records incoming calls for retrieval at a convenient time, but also provides a hard copy of caller ID numbers which can be retrieved at some time after the call has been received. The user of the present invention can thus print out a listing of calls received, and can ignore or return those calls at leisure or when convenient. The present system can also be programmed to print a listing of incoming caller numbers for a specific predetermined time period, as desired, to further screen incoming calls.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a printing caller ID device including an audio recorder for recording voice messages from callers, combined with a printer for printing a list of caller ID telephone numbers received.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a device which combines the above components in a single compact unit for desktop use or elsewhere where space may be limited.
It is a further object of the invention to provide means for programming the printer output to print telephone numbers received for a predetermined period of time, as desired.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a printing caller ID device using conventional rolled register paper, for economy of operation.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.